Video games have come a long way from simplistic pixelated experiences, such as with the Atari 2600 in the 70s, to the stylized graphics and complex narratives consumers expect of modern-day games. Video games have rapidly changed their visual language and how players interact with narratives; the stories told within games have become deeper and more immersive. What once showcased simplified visuals have introduced detailed and realistic graphics. The technological growth in video games and the evolution of their storytelling have put them in closer proximity to the artistic medium of film. The cinematic growth within gaming has led to questions concerning whether this is the right direction for gaming and if the trend of adapting games to other visual mediums will transform gaming projects into glorified movie pitches.
Video games invite players into the narrative to make decisions and shift their perspective to the protagonists’. A problem occurs when video games try to curate and control gamers’ experiences by leaning heavily on cinematics. Game studios like Rockstar Games, Naughty Dog, and Bethesda used to make video games in which interactivity was put at the forefront, but as technology evolved, video game sensibilities changed. The push for realism also impacted how much time is spent on the level design, focusing on minute details such as weathered metal on the guns you use instead of more variety to the gameplay. Some games achieved this balance, such as Red Dead Redemption II (2018), which employs a complex morality system opening the player up to various avenues to complete the game, penalizing those who act maliciously versus rewarding those who follow the protagonist’s code of honour. While doing so, RDR2 utilizes cinematic bars that appear during cut scenes and realistic elements, such as footprints that don’t fade and animals that act in real-time, to immerse players in the game.
Unfortunately, other studios have almost wholly abandoned gameplay to achieve hyperrealistic worlds and visuals. In the past, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series was vast in gameplay variety. Users could do anything they wanted to and endure manic rampages where the game world’s population reacts to your actions. GTA’s world almost had a life of its own and included role-playing game (RPG) elements such as stamina and strength stats for the player’s character. The generational leap within the 7th generation of consoles, such as the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3, introduced high-definition within video games and a push towards realism in that these systems were far more capable of implementing detail with their increased clarity. Although Grand Theft Auto had a living and breathing satirical rendition of New York City, many missions were structured within a linear narrative that clashed with the open-ended gameplay GTA was previously known for. Bethesda Gameworks has also shifted towards realism and cinematics. For Instance, Fallout 4 (2015) included voice actors for the protagonist, a first in the series where dialogue options had been text-based for the silent protagonist, which limited dialogue options and plot paths, reducing gameplay options. This change has impacted the story and the gameplay as the game relied entirely on its voice acting to tell the story, and as a result, there were considerably fewer narrative options than in.
Fallout 4 focused on gearing a better first-person shooter experience at the expense of the game’s story. Fallout 4 broke away from the series formula and changed classic gameplay elements fans expected of the series, changing the progression system by limiting player choice. In efforts to streamline it for new players and give the protagonist a voice, that limited dialogue options and narrowed the path players took in completing the game. Unfortunately, the workload was at the cost of the immersive experience. In addition, the voice acting took away from Bethesda’s iconic RPG style as it limited player immersion. Players could not envision themselves as protagonists. Not only did this shatter immersion, but it also limited dialogue within the game. Often selected dialogue options did not match the protagonist’s verbal response, making the story frustrating as it appeared that the player’s choices did not matter; the story would unfold in the primary way developers intended. The game further limited replayability by creating a dialogue system that only allows linear gameplay and decision-making in a game that previously implemented a dense morality system; moral grays have turned into players navigating a world with a black-and-white morality system, simplifying the complexity of decisions and reducing gameplay.
Developers need to strike a balance between gameplay and visuals. A creator such as Hideo Kojima has highlighted the importance of this balance through his work. He has sought composers from the film industry and cinematic set pieces. Still, while Kojima’s obsession with film has inspired his creative works, he vigorously enforces a sense of interactivity in his projects. This is done to transform players from passive bystanders into active interpreters. For instance, in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), the game text examines identity and memory in the gameplay as it plays with multiple viewpoints and information traded between characters. Metal Gear Solid 2‘s narrative deals with the spread of misinformation and how this often becomes indistinguishable from truth. The player switches from the protagonist, Solid Snake, into a new character surrounded by an unfamiliar cast. Since the player is now in uncharted territory, this creates a feeling of mistrust and skepticism as the narrative has the player contemplate how a shadowy government agency called the Patriots relates to the missions they are taking part in.
Kojima’s development process has inspired many to incorporate cinematics into their projects, such as Naughty Dog and Rockstar games. Whenever Kojima implements a story decision within his games, the players are often allowed to play the game as they see fit, with various options at their disposal. For example, within the Metal Gear series, players can play it lethally or non-lethally. By doing this, Kojima implements subtle ways the story changes. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004), which explores the theme of loss, confronts players with this during the boss battle of the Sorrow. If you play the game lethally, many deceased enemies will appear in boss sections haunting you; your decisions have made the fight harder because you must live with your choices for Snake. While many try to emulate Kojima’s style of cinematic game, most often forget how he uses interactivity. While not every game has to give the player a choice in changing the narrative or the goal of the game, video games should entice players to answer questions about themselves and what they would do in situations such as these and ways to put their conflicted feelings regarding revenge into practice within the gameplay.
The best games I have played cannot exist without interactivity. Whether it is the Donkey Kong Country or the Metal Gear series, they appeal to me because my actions impact the narrative. This is ultimately lost through adaptations. For years video game movies attributed to box office poison, such as the original live-action Super Mario Movie, and the ones that brought commercial success, such as Paul W.S Anderson’s Resident Evil series, did not respect the source material of the series. The constant underwhelming nature of these adaptations has made gamers skeptical of consuming this content. While gamers sought the film industry’s legitimacy, many were skeptical of Hollywood succeeding in adapting their beloved stories. But with the great success of HBO’s adaptation of the hit 2013 video game The Last of Us (2013), something has changed how consumers view both games and their potential adaptations. The status of the HBO brand led gamers to eagerly embrace this adaptation with high hopes that it would serve justice to this iconic game series, and following the conclusion of the series, many fans have praised the series for capturing material faithfully to the source material. On the other hand, I had a conflicting experience watching the adaptation. I found the series jarring as while it was faithful, the show seemed to rush towards important story beats without giving time for plot points and characters to develop organically, despite being a nine-part series and not a two-hour film. The creative team at HBO also often crammed in additions to the original story, which derailed from plot and character development.
Adapting a video game to a passive medium such as television results in the loss of interactivity and investment in the character’s actions. Losing the game’s interactivity made me feel disconnected from the characters’ adapted counterparts. Playing as Joel and Ellie made me an active participant in the story. I eagerly searched for hidden clues such as notes and optional dialogue, allowing me to naturally explore and expand the post-apocalyptic world. The story felt forced, with the show rushing the narrative and eagerly doling out the lore. Key moments were woven with other background plots or combined into one episode; perhaps a longer episode order and more writers would alleviate some of my problems, or the supplementary material, although strong, impacted the character growth between Joel and Ellie negativity as we spend quite a bit of time away from them by instead spending time on characters created for the show or expanded on from the game. Many fans celebrated this series as bringing The Last of Us to a new audience. Still, it diminishes the story by sanding down the edges and combining too many plot elements within a singular episode. While these adaptations are not slowing down either, with properties from all three console manufacturers, Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox, on the way, neither game being adapted, such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Gears of War, is as cinematic as The Last of Us, perhaps the true test of adaptations moving forward would be Sony’s upcoming Ghosts of Tsushima (2020) adaptation, where authenticity is not the only factor, but how the adaption respects not only the story of the game but the samurai films the videogame pays tribute to. It makes me wonder if there’s any point in a cinematic approach to gaming if they will become films or television shows anyway.
As a fan of movies first, I am torn on video games adding cinematic elements that can otherwise be achieved in the medium of film. All media interacts with its audiences differently, but video games create immediacy in this relationship. When developers spend the bulk of the game focusing on details that, to the average player it won’t matter, they still need to understand the goal of each game. To create a long-enduring narrative within gaming, players want to come away with an experience that will change them. The immersion and agency of the player are essential to video games. When the focus is on cinematic techniques and less on gameplay, essential aspects of storytelling are lost through this media’s direct and guided impact. With video games already achieving cinematic fidelity and a comparable experience with movies adapting an already cinematic game feels redundant; by adapting The Last of Us with nearly identical dialogue and identical cinematography, the story’s impact was weakened. Interactivity is a foundation the video games can give us that film cannot, so when video games seek to replicate experiences seen on film, they should contemplate why they are making this story as cinematic as it is and if it is impacting the experience of playing a video game and living within the world. By losing the interactivity of video games, we are losing a core mechanic that becomes essential to the experience of the game.
Do video games need to be cinematic to be recognized as art? Or are games seen as an inferior art form to the point where it’s not enough to be cinematic; they need to become films themselves?
